Blog Post #4

Winter break is over, and we're back in school yet I feel I never left. While it was winter vacation for most, for me it was working non-stop to finish applications and my online AP Physics C class. I am more tired and burnt out now than I have ever been but there is a lot to look forward to now. My applications are in, and my class is finished. All I can do now is sit back and wait for decisions to come back to me. If there's one thing above all I am excited about this semester is ironically spring break. Not because I don't like my classes or I don't want to be in school. See, over spring break I'm going to Ireland with the Wind Ensemble and I am very excited. Besides my Ireland trip, some challenges my capstone group might face I think will be in creating our device. I think it is very possible but it will be a lot of work. There is a lot of research to be done so our solution can be as effective as possible. I hope that through our research and working with our mentor we can create functioning products to help solve the problem we chose.

After researching the question, what is the difference between products made for profit and products that are made to benefit others I have come to this conclusion? Products that are made for profit, as the name says, are made to make money instead of improve the lives of people. There are many products around today that don't necessarily improve quality of life or assist in a large-scale problem. They are companies that create products to sell and make a profit. On the other hand, products made to benefit others focus less on how much money they will sell for and more on how this product can help people and make a real difference. Simply put, the difference is products made for profit do not try to solve a problem while those made to benefit others create a product with the intention it improves people's livelihood.

The pros of a product for profit are that people tend to be motivated to start a business that would allow them to work on their own terms. Not only, but if the business/product is successful they might even make a profit. Some cons are more autonomy leads to harder decisions needing to be made, or one needs prior knowledge on how to sell a product effectively. An example of a product made for profit is Google Ads, which are the advertisements seen on most online sources.

The pros of a product made to benefit others are it can be eligible for grants and be a non-profit which can be a tax deduction. Some cons are because of the goal of the product, no one involved will truly make money. In addition, if the product needs proper research behind it there's a chance it could do more harm than good. An example of a product made to benefit others would be a product that took an everyday item such as plastic utensils and altered them to benefit the environment. Therefore I have chosen the company Bambu which creates bamboo, eco-friendly utensils.